Monday, October 5, 2015

Eliza Spalding Warren was just a child when she was taken hostage by
the Cayuse Indians during a massacre in 1847.

Now the young mother of
two children, Eliza faces a different kind of dislocation; her
impulsive husband wants them to make a new start in another territory,
which will mean leaving her beloved home and her departed mother's
grave--and returning to the land of her captivity. Eliza longs to know
how her mother, an early missionary to the Nez Perce Indians, dealt
with the challenges of life with a sometimes difficult husband and
with her daughter's captivity.
When Eliza is finally given her mother's diary, she is stunned to find
that her own memories are not necessarily the whole story of what
happened. Can she lay the dark past to rest and move on? Or will her
childhood memories always hold her hostage?

Based on true events, The Memory Weaver is New York Times bestselling
author Jane Kirkpatrick's latest literary journey into the past, where
threads of western landscapes, family, and faith weave a tapestry of
hope inside every pioneering woman's heart. Readers will find
themselves swept up in this emotional story of the memories that
entangle us and the healing that awaits us when we bravely unravel the
threads of the past.

Cafe Lily's Review:

This book is based on the true account of Eliza Spaulding, daughter of
pioneer missionaries Henry and Eliza Spaulding, who ministered to the
Nez Perce Indians. Her strength and determination become evident, as
readers discover all that Eliza has gone through.

When Eliza grows into adulthood, eventually marries and starts her own
family, it becomes clear to her, that her experiences may not be
exactly as she remembers them. As the author takes readers back and
forth from the past to the present, Eliza's struggles tug at your
heart.

This wasn't my favorite book by this author. I love historical fiction
and this fits the bill, but it had more of a biographical tone to it
than I expected. The back and forth from present day to the diary,
was a bit distracting for me. Overall, a good read for history buffs,
it just wasn't my favorite book to read.